As a follow-up to the successful first EU-India
Aviation Summit held in New Delhi in November 2006, Mr. Praful Patel, Minister
for Civil Aviation of India is visiting several European institutions on 22-23
October 2007. The visit is being hosted by Mr. Jacques Barrot, Vice-President of
the European Commission responsible for transport. The two sides expressed their
shared aspirations driven by their respective policies of promoting safe, open
and sustainable aviation relations for the benefit of industry and
consumers.

Messrs. Patel and Barrot welcomed the very positive new impetus in EU-India
aviation cooperation following the adoption in September 2005 of the overall
EU-India "Joint Action Plan" in which civil aviation plays a key enabling role.
However, both sides expressed a strong wish for taking EU-India cooperation in
civil aviation to a new level by broadening and intensifying cooperation in a
wide range of areas.

Progress towards the finalisation of a Horizontal Agreement as well as an
agreement on future technical cooperation was welcomed by Vice President Barrot.
The Horizontal Agreement will restore legal certainty to the 24 bilateral air
services agreements that India has with individual EU Member States thereby
creating a sound legal basis for further developing EU-India air transport
connections.

A key objective of future technical assistance will be to strengthen the
institutional capacity of the civil aviation regulatory authorities of India and
to help ensure a safe and secure aviation environment through policy support,
pilot projects and targeted training.

During his visit to the EU, Minister Patel will visit the European Aviation
Safety Agency (EASA) in Cologne and Eurocontrol in Brussels.More information
on the cooperation between the EU and India in the field of aviation can be
found at: